Fern Lake Fire grows to 660 acres, terrain keeps firefight in the air

11:03 AM,
Oct. 12, 2012

Written by

Robert Allen
RobertAllen@coloradoan.com

Steep, rugged terrain in an area heavily forested with mountain pine-beetle kill trees is keeping firefighters away from the Fern Lake Fire burning 660 acres in Rocky Mountain National Park.

"The area is so heavily fuel-loaded, so steep and rugged, that we can't safely insert hand crews to do a direct attack," said park spokesman Norm Rooker, adding that containment lines are being set up away from the fire where possible.

The fire remains uncontained despite the limited hand-crew work and firefighting efforts from three helicopters. No structures are threatened, and the nearest ...